Brazil ends Gilas' Olympic dream

The clock finally struck midnight for Gilas Pilipinas after a loss to Brazil in the semifinal of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) at the Arena Riga in Latvia Saturday evening (Manila time).

With the loss, the Philippines bows out of contention for a shot at the lone Paris Olympic ticket.

Gilas held a 33-27 lead at the start of the third quarter when the Brazilians went on a 14-0 run to take the lead for the rest of the game.

The Philippines tried to take back the game after Dwight Ramos and CJ Perez cut the lead to seven, 42-51, in the fourth quarter but both Marcelinho Huertas and Bruno Caboclo went on a 10-2 tear to establish a 15-point lead with four minutes and 50 seconds left in the game.

This is the fifth time the Filipinos have lost to the Brazilians, dating all the way back to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in Finland.

Caboclo had a double-double for the Brazilians with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Huertas scored 13 points. Brazil will face the winner of the Cameroon-Latvia match in the final on Sunday.

Justin Brownlee was limited to 15 points and eight rebounds as Gilas ended their OQT run.